Build your own garage!
It’s a well known fact that having a car port or garage is good for your car.
In a garage your car will be protected from winter’s freezing temperatures. In France, the average life of a car that doesn’t get put into a garage at night is between 7 and 8 years. Of course, it also depends on the mileage, but a car in France whose owner has a garage will last for twice as long as a car which does not, meaning it is worth having a garage at home.
A garage is better than a car port because of the difference between outside and inside temperatures which have a great influence on the engine and the car starter.
One judicious and affordable method is to build your own garage even if you’re not good at DIY. In case you feel unable to build the frame, you could still carry out most of the work. The simplest method is the following one:
1) Find the right location
Find a patch of flat land far from large trees. If your property is located near Marseille on the French Riviera, be aware of the Mistral wind which causes a lot of damage each year there. Be cautious and take the time to think about the exact location of your garage.
2) Convert the area
Once you’ve chosen the location, take your car’s measurements to compare them with the size of your future garage. When measuring the width of your car, add 2 metres more for space… to leave the car of course!
Leave a 50cm space between the entrance and your car to put a door, and leave a maximum of 20cm in front of your car: don’t waste bricks and make your work efficient.
Regarding the floor, it is up to you. You can use gravel, cement, and even tiles if you want… Whatever the floor, it won’t change the insulation of your garage.
3) Use breeze-blocks and concrete
It is totally pointless to build a wooden garage (unless you find special wood made for that type of work) as it is not the best material for insulation. Moreover, normal wood is not very resistant and tends to become rotten quickly. The most important are the walls. Buying bricks in many DIY shops is not very expensive (from €1 a brick second hand). The construction itself is very simple: put a maximum of 4 centimetres of cement and lay down a brick.
Do not forget to also put cement between the bricks and to place them in staggered rows. For the angles, put the bricks as shown on the picture below:
4) Your garage’s roof
For the roof, you are not obliged to lay tiles. Lay down a huge metal sheet and fix it to the top of the walls. One thing is very important, the metal sheet needs to be inclined slightly to evacuate rain water or snow, otherwise it risks collapsing onto your car.
=> Note that this process is the simplest one. You can build a garage with a bigger habitable surface for a workshop or storage. There are plenty of solutions to build and convert a garage.
=> In case you don’t know how to make concrete, it is still possible to build a garage in cob (a mix of mud and straw). This material has the advantage of insulating very well.